Let Me Help Make the Pain go Away
by Sand-wolf579
Summary: Kya manages to learn how to heal with her waterbending, but becomes distressed when she figures out that there is some pain that she just cannot heal...At least, not with her bending.


**A/N: This is my first time writing in the Avatar universe. I thought of this as I was rewatching Legend of Korra for the third time (I'm trying to watch it in Spanish this time around). In episode four of season two Bumi says that Kya always knows when he needs a hug, and I just got thinking. Kya doesn't exactly strike me as a very physical person, while Bumi probably thrives on physical contact and, well, I just started writing and I ended up with this. It's not the best thing I've ever written, but I'm happy with it.**

* * *

Little Kya bit her lip and concentrated. She moved her arms in the same flowy motion that he mother had taught her to use for this skill. She thought it felt weird to learn how to bend like this. It took a lot of effort for her to not just splash the water or whip it around, or even turn it to ice like she normally would. She fought the temptation though and continued with her efforts. Soon enough the small amount of water that she had been moving around her mother's hand began to glow.

Kya grinned excitedly when the small wound that her mom had cut into her hand so that Kya could practice began to heal. Katara smiled proudly, which made Kya's grin broaden.

"See? I knew you could do it." Katara pulled her eight year old daughter into a hug. Kya wasn't normally a big fan of physical affection, but she gladly leaned into her mother's embrace. It felt really good to know that her mom was proud of her progress in waterbending. Sometimes her mom could be a tough teacher, but she was always understanding and encouraging whenever Kya started to get frustrated because she was having a hard time with a bending technique. She really was the best master that Kya could hope for.

...Still, the little girl often wished it was her _father_ who was teaching her bending, and not her mother. Not because he was a better bender waterbender than her mom was, because he definitely wasn't, but because maybe then Kya would have his full attention for once.

Kya tried not to be too upset about it though because like her big brother Bumi often pointed out to her, at least she got the chance to have this one on one time with their mom.

"Thank you for teaching me healing, mommy." Kya bowed respectfully to her mother, just like she had been taught to do after a lesson. She giggled when her mom bowed back to her.

"You know I'm always happy to teach you waterbending." Her mom said. Kya nodded, because she knew her mommy meant her words. Kya loved waterbending, and she knew that her mom loved it even more. It was important to the both of them, and even though Kya was only eight years old she could see how much it meant to her mother, to be able to share something that she cared so much about with somebody that she loved. Kya knew that her daddy felt the same way about airbending with Tenzin.

...That didn't mean she still didn't get jealous about all of the special attention that her little brother got from their dad.

"Honestly though, I was surprised when you asked me to teach you healing." Her mom continued. "You've never shown any interest in this form of bending before."

Kya frowned and bit her lip slightly as she tried to think of what to say to her mom. She couldn't lie to her, but she had also promised that she wouldn't tell her the truth either. After thinking about it for a minute Kya decided that it would be okay to tell the truth, just as long as she kept _some things_ secret.

"I have a friend who's been hurting a lot lately." Kya was careful to not say exactly _who_ was hurting. "I want to help him."

Kya blushed slightly when her mom smiled softly and proudly at her. "That's my girl, doing whatever it takes to help somebody else." Her mom's smile fell slightly and she looked a little more serious. "But Kya, if your healing isn't enough you'll bring your friend to me or another grown up, right?"

"I will." Kya assured her mother, though on the inside she was thinking ' _I won't.'_ She had promised not to tell anybody about this, and she meant to keep that promise. Besides, this problem was a little different than others. It was, what was that word that grown ups used all the time? Right, _complicated._

And Kya doubted that she would need a grown ups help with this anyways. She could heal now, and while she was had only just learned the skill Kya was confident in her abilities. It would be enough for this, it _had_ to be.

* * *

...It wasn't enough.

Kya sniffled and wiped her eyes with her sleeves. She still had a hard time believing that her healing hadn't worked. She had done everything right. The water had been glowing and everything! It still hadn't helped though. If anything, Kya was afraid that her attempt had just made everything worse.

Kya sighed and wished that she could just sink into the tree branch that she had been sitting on for the past fifteen minutes. This was her normal place to go when she was upset, high up in a specific tree on the island. She loved sitting up here to feel the wind on her face and watch the ocean below hit the shore. It usually made her feel at peace, reminded her that the world was made up of all of the elements naturally working together in harmony. Just like her daddy. Right now though the reminder just made her sick to her stomach. She wished she didn't have anything to do with _any_ of the elements.

Kya whimpered and covered her eyes with her hands. She didn't want to watch the ocean anymore. She didn't want to feel the gentle breeze against her face anymore. She just wanted...she didn't even know what she wanted, but it wasn't this.

"Kya!" The young girl blinked in surprise and uncovered her eyes. She knew that voice, and it had been the last thing she had expected to hear that day.

"Daddy?" Kya held on to the branch and leaned forward slightly to look down at her father who was standing right next to the tree. Kya was still upset, but she couldn't help but smile when she saw her dad there. She hadn't seen him in almost a month. She had no idea that he would be coming home today.

"How're you doing, Princess?" Her dad smiled up at her. His smile fell away when he saw the tear tracks on her cheeks. "Is something wrong?"

Kya frowned and shrugged. She wrapped her arms around herself and glanced to the side. She didn't have to be looking at her dad to tell that he was frowning. A second later she heard a familiar gush of wind as her dad bent the air around him. He kind of lifted himself into the air a few feet, a little like flying except he could only do it a little bit, and he eased himself onto the branch right next to Kya.

She tensed slightly when she felt her dad put his arm around her. "What's going on? You mother told me that you finally figured out healing today. I thought you'd be over the moon about it."

Kya felt tears gather in her eyes again. She glared down at her lap. "What's the point of healing if I can't make the worst pain go away?"

"What do you mean?" Kya could tell that her dad was confused, and though she wasn't really in the mood for talking about it she decided to anyways. Maybe her dad would understand more about this than she did.

"Somebody that I really care about is hurting a lot." Kya whimpered. Once again, she was careful to avoid using any names. "I want to help him, but I my healing didn't work."

Kya's dad was still confused. "What kind of pain is it?"

Kya shifted uncomfortably and put a hand on the left side of her chest, directly over her heart. "He says that it hurts here, but it's an inside kind of pain."

"Oh." Kya's dad nodded and he seemed to understand now, which normally Kya would feel relieved about because then maybe he could give her advice about how to solve the problem. But her dad looked upset now, which did not help Kya to feel any better. "Honey, emotional pain isn't something that can just be fixed with waterbending?"

"Why not?" Kya asked. She had thought that waterbending healing could fix any kind of pain, except for the really, really bad stuff. Did this really count as something really bad?

"It's not a normal kind of pain." Kya's dad said. "Healing can help with pains on your body, but it can't do anything for the other stuff."

Kya crossed her arms. "Then what's the point of even learning how to heal at all?"

"Kya, I'm sure you'll be able to help a lot of people with your healing someday." Her dad assured her. "As for your friend though, well, I guess you're just going to have to find another way to help him."

"I've been trying!" Kya clenched her hands. She could feel her fingernails digging into her arms, and she didn't even care. "Nothing helps."

Kya's dad grabbed her hands and held them in his own. She felt a little gust of wind against her cheek, pushing her to turn and look at her father. She was surprised to see that his eyes looked really sad too. "You may not feel like it, but just the fact that you _want_ to help will help." Her dad smiled sadly. "Trust me, I know."

"But how am I supposed to show him that I want to help?" Kya asked, because he really hadn't responded well to her healing attempt earlier. He had just gotten upset again.

Kya's dad leaned towards her and kissed her forehead lightly. He then gathered her in his arms and just held her close. "I'm sure you'll figure it out." He said quietly.

Kya sniffled and leaned into her dad's hold. It wasn't very often that she was held like this, and even though it made her feel like a little kid she did actually enjoy it. Somehow her daddy's hugs always made her feel better. He always seemed to know when she needed a hug.

...Wait a second. Kya's eyes widened as an idea came to her head. Maybe there _was_ something she could do to help him. She would have to test her idea out sometime. It would have to be later though, because right now she just wanted to be with her dad for a little longer.

After all, it had felt like forever since she had last gotten attention like this from her father. She wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.

* * *

Kya carefully but quickly walked down the hallways of the temple. In her hands she was carrying a tray with a bowl filled to the brim with stewed sea prunes (ick!). She had volunteered to take the food to her older brother, who had skipped out on dinner that evening, but she was starting to regret her decision. She swore that the smell of the stew was going to make her sick.

Kya absolutely hated sea prunes and felt like throwing up whenever she even smelled the stuff. Her dad and Tenzin hated sea prunes just as much as she did, if not more. The only person in their family who actually _liked_ sea prunes, aside from their mom, of course, was Bumi. Not only did he like sea prunes, he honestly _loved_ them, which was why Kya was confused about why he hadn't been at dinner.

Bumi _never_ missed a meal, especially not when they were having sea prunes. Their parents were worried that he was getting sick. They thought this because not only had he skipped dinner, but neither of them had seen him even leave his room all day. Kya knew what was wrong with Bumi, and it had nothing to do with illness.

She just hoped that she could successfully make things better this time.

Kya approached Bumi's bedroom door, and since her hands were full she kicked at it instead of knocking. "Bumi, it's me." She called out. "I brought you dinner."

There was silence on the other side of the door for a minute. Kya just began to worry that her older brother had snuck out when she heard his voice from inside. "What is it?" He asked.

"Stewed sea prunes." Kya made a disgusted face. She waited for another minute and, sure enough, the door opened up just enough for Bumi to stick his head out the door.

"Do you really have sea prunes?" He asked.

Kya wrinkled her nose. "Can't you smell it?" Bumi smiled slightly. He opened his door wider and Kya went in before he could change his mind. She quickly shoved her way inside before Bumi could change his mind. She quickly passed the tray to her brother and went to the other side of the room before the smell actually made her sick.

Bumi took the bowl and sat down on the floor so he could lean against his bed. He contently began to eat his food. He wasn't even making any effort to be careful to not spill his food. He just let it splash to the ground and he didn't even care. Kya didn't even blink at the mess he was making. Bumi's room was so dirty that a couple of splashes of stewed sea prunes barely made much of a difference.

Bumi's room was always a mess, and he liked it that way. It drove their parents nuts, but a part of Kya did enjoy the chaos of his room. It was the only part of the whole temple that wasn't all orderly and clean.

Bumi looked at Kya unsurely. "I'm guessin' you didn't just come here to to bring me sea prunes."

"You're right, I'm not." Kya didn't even blush in embarrassment, because she had nothing to be ashamed about.

"Alright, let me try another one." Bumi set aside his bowl and put on his 'thinking face'. That's what Kya called it when Bumi tried to look serious when he really wasn't. "Does this have anything to do with bending?"

"You can do better than that." Kya crossed her arms, a slight teasing glint in her eyes. Bumi smirked at the challenge.

"Alright, fine." Bumi never was one to back down from a challenge. "Are you here because...you feel bad that I'm not a bender?" Bumi's tone sounded as carefree and joking as it normally did, but there was a dark look in his eyes.

"What? No!" Kya said defensively. ' _Kinda'_ she thought to herself. "I just want to help you."

"I don't need your help!" Bumi shouted, causing Kya to take a step back because Bumi was scary when he yelled like this. "I don't need you, or any of your stupid bending." Kya flinched. Immediately after Kya had learned how to heal with her waterbending she had run to Bumi and tried to heal him from the constant pain she knew he was dealing with. It hadn't worked though. All her healing attempt had done was cause Bumi to think that she was just showing off her bending to him, and he had not been happy about it.

Bumi glanced to the side and shut his eyes tight to hide the fact that they were wet. "I don't need bending." He said this in a quieter voice that Kya barely heard at all, which made her think that he was talking to himself.

Kya frowned. She was not happy to see Bumi looking all upset again. This had been what she had been trying to change. All month long Bumi had been really moody and just didn't act like his normal self. It was such an obvious change that even their mom had noticed it, though she had no idea what was wrong with him. Kya knew _exactly_ what was bothering him, because it had been bothering her too.

For the past month their dad and Tenzin had been gone on some special 'airbenders only' vacation, leaving Bumi and Kya stuck at home. Neither of them had been very happy about their dad leaving them behind yet again, though they both dealt with their unhappiness in different ways. Kya spent more and more time with her waterbending training and Bumi...Bumi hadn't had anything to distract him. He couldn't even learn sword fighting from their uncle Sokka because he had been really busy lately with counsel business. Bumi only had himself to cope with the pain and feelings of abandonment that he refused to admit that he had.

And let's just say that Bumi wasn't exactly the best at coping with anything.

Kya had been trying to make him feel better with her waterbending. She forget that it wasn't just the fact that he wasn't an airbender that upset Bumi. He always seemed to get jealous and moody whenever anybody bended any of the elements, especially if he was already in a bad mood to begin with.

Well, Kya had a different plan now. One that had absolutely nothing to do with bending, and she just hoped that it worked. Before she could have the chance to doubt herself Kya approached her brother and, without hesitation, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and just held on tight.

Bumi was thrown off by the unexpected embrace but within seconds he was relaxing and hugging her back. Unlike Kya, Bumi thrived on physical contact. He was always hugging and touching and just breaking personal bubbles left and right, because that's who he was and that's what he was comfortable with.

Kya forced herself to stay right where she was when she heard Bumi sniffle slightly. It was a little weird to think of her older brother crying, but she was kind of used to it by now. Bumi had always been a very sensitive person, he just always tried to hide it behind his pranks and swordfighting.

"I thought you didn't like hugging." Bumi said with a small, weak laugh.

"I don't." Kya admitted. She tightened her hold on her brother. "But you do." That was enough reason for her to be doing this. And it wasn't that she didn't like hugs, she just didn't like pointless hugs. To her, hugs were supposed to mean something. It was why she always shied away from Bumi's little embraces that he gave for absolutely no reason. Hugs like this though? Ones that actually meant something. Kya could handle those for as long as she had to.

"I know you don't want bending help." Kya said quietly. "But what about sister help?"

"Yeah." Bumi actually sounded like he was crying now, but somehow he didn't seem as upset as he had been all day. "I think I can handle sister help."

"That's good." Kya snuggled, actually snuggled, against her older brother. "Because I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me."

Bumi laughed again. "I thought that was my line."

"Nope, it's mine now." Kya said easily. "You'll have to come up with something else."

"Alright, fair enough." Even though Kya wasn't looking at her face she could tell that Bumi was smiling. He was silent for about five seconds before suddenly speaking up again. "Hey, Kya, do you ever think about flying?"

"What?" Kya was thrown off by the sudden change in topic, and she couldn't tell if Bumi was actually being as serious as he sounded or if he was just pretending to be serious. She sometimes had a hard time telling the difference. "Bumi, what're you talking abou-Gah!" Kya cried out when Bumi suddenly lifted her up into the air and placed her on his shoulders. Feeling like she was about to fall Kya grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on to steady herself, which just so happened to be her brother's hair. She was sure that her pulling his hair probably hurt, but Bumi just laughed.

"What are you doing?!" Kya cried out.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Bumi clumsily stumbled to his feet, almost falling over in the process. Kya screamed and held on tight to her brother, who somehow managed to keep his balance. "I'm going to help you fly."

Kya nervously clenched her fists. "Bumi, don't you dare." He may be a few years older than her, and he was definitely bigger than she was, but not so much bigger that she felt safe sitting on top of his shoulders like she did on her dad's or Uncle Sokka's. Maybe if it was just a normal piggy-back ride she would be fine with it. But shoulders definitely didn't have the same stability as backs did.

"Hold on tight, kid." Bumi grabbed onto her legs and Kya barely had enough time to cling to his hair again before her brother let out a ridiculous and enthusiastic yell and ran off into the hallway.

Kya trusted Bumi, but when she was sitting on his shoulders and felt like she was going to fall off any second as he ran down the hallways of the temple she found herself terrified for her life. Her trust could only take her so far. For the first few minutes Kya had her eyes scrunched tight as she held on for dear life. After awhile though she began to become more comfortable. In fact, she was almost starting to enjoy herself.

"Don't drop me." Kya pleaded as she loosed her grip on her brother's hair. She was still holding on tight enough to help her keep her balance, but not so tight that she was threatening to pull it out.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Bumi swore, and like always Kya believed his words. He wasn't going to let her get hurt. In fact, she knew that if they did start falling that Bumi would somehow reposition himself so that _he_ would be the only one at risk of getting hurt. He looked out for her, just like how Kya looked out for him.

They were siblings. Watching each other's backs and driving each other crazy was what they did. It was like an unspoken sibling law, a law that neither Kya nor Bumi had any intention of breaking. They would always watch out for each other.

...Oh, and Tenzin too.

* * *

 **A/N: I had not expected Bumi to be so hard to write. Maybe it's just because I'm writing him as a child during a time when he would probably be very emotional, it just seems out of character. I tried though, and I hope I did okay.**


End file.
